Magpiezoe
04-01-2003, 12:17 PM
Hello, I was wondering if anyone, who has added more fruits and vegetables to their diet notice having less colds or less servere symptoms? I used to always get one really big springtime cold in March, so I've been waiting and waiting. The only thing that happened was I had a headache and a tingling nose for 2 days and that was all. My husband; however, has been getting hit really hard with diahrea, stomach pains, headache, and stuffy nose. (He doesn't eat as many servings of vegies/fruit as I do, but does eat more rice and meat and doesn't snack.) It just struck me as kind of strange that everyone around me gets really sick, even my co-workers, and I don't. I must be overdosing on the vitamin c with all the fruit I eat and not realizing it.
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Magpie
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Magpie
Sponsor
arkie6
04-01-2003, 01:48 PM
I haven't had a cold in three years. I used to get a couple a year. As you are probably aware, I eat a low carbohydrate diet, but I also eat far more vegetables now than I did then also. I don't eat much fruit because of the high sugar levels, but I do eat the occassional 1/2 grapefruit or handfull of strawberries. I also take a daily multi-vitamin and extra vit. C (500 mg) and vit. E (400 mg) and fish and/or cod liver (2000-3000 mg) just for good measure. I also used to take these same supplements before I started low carbing (all except the fish/cod liver oil), and I still got the yearly colds.
I think one of the keys to avoiding colds is to have a strong immune system. For me, removing sugars and refined carbohydrate foods from my diet and eating more whole natural un-processed food has allowed me to improve my health immensely.
Alan
I think one of the keys to avoiding colds is to have a strong immune system. For me, removing sugars and refined carbohydrate foods from my diet and eating more whole natural un-processed food has allowed me to improve my health immensely.
Alan
rhody
04-01-2003, 10:33 PM
Since I have overall improved my health after I had my dental amalgams removed, I rarely get colds. To help me detoxify my body (even before I linked my health problems to the dental amalgams), I switched to a healthy diet of non-processed foods.
Now with healthy foods, rich in fruits and vegetables, I rarely get colds or the flu. I used to catch "every virus on the planet" previously. :) I had to tell people to stay away. I didn't need another cold.
These days, if in the rare case, that I catch one of these viruses, I find that raw garlic (one or two cloves daily), helps knock it out. One time, I was sick traveling, instead of carrying cold medication, I took my raw garlic with me. The raw garlic kept me well enough for me to accomplish my task while traveling. Dried fruits, for some reason, seem to neutralize the garlic odor somewhat too - so I bring dried apricots with me also to take the next day in the morning - after taking the garlic about 12 to 18 hours earlier. Raw (non-cooked) garlic is a natural antibiotic.
Now with healthy foods, rich in fruits and vegetables, I rarely get colds or the flu. I used to catch "every virus on the planet" previously. :) I had to tell people to stay away. I didn't need another cold.
These days, if in the rare case, that I catch one of these viruses, I find that raw garlic (one or two cloves daily), helps knock it out. One time, I was sick traveling, instead of carrying cold medication, I took my raw garlic with me. The raw garlic kept me well enough for me to accomplish my task while traveling. Dried fruits, for some reason, seem to neutralize the garlic odor somewhat too - so I bring dried apricots with me also to take the next day in the morning - after taking the garlic about 12 to 18 hours earlier. Raw (non-cooked) garlic is a natural antibiotic.
auntjudyg
04-02-2003, 10:39 AM
I found the colds/flu disappeared after cutting down on dairy and wheat.
Magpiezoe
04-02-2003, 03:24 PM
Hello, Gee, it looks like the lack of severe colds and less colds might be contected to the fact that we've all managed to make ourselves healthier. I don't really take any extra vitamins than I did before...Actually, I forget to take my vitamins most of the time. Now...If only I could find a way to make my hubby healthier too...He definately won't go the natural root, since he won't eat brown rice or whole wheat. (He lives on white rice.)...I think I might be able to get him to eat more fruit, but not more vegies. (I sit in from of him and make the fruit I'm eating look like the best thing on Earth.
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Magpie
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Magpie
redwing
04-03-2003, 10:19 AM
It may be that the fruits and veggies you are eating are relatively high in Vitamin C, and that you are spreading out your eating of them. If you decide to start supplementing with Vitamin C instead of eating a lot of high-fructose fruits (I avoid these myself), I would recommend not taking Vitamin C mega-doses and spreading out the C supplementation each day as much as you can. See the below two threads on the topic.
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum123/HTML/000706.html
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum123/HTML/000738.html
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum123/HTML/000706.html
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum123/HTML/000738.html
ysone
04-03-2003, 12:30 PM
Magpiezoe,
Yes, fruits and veggies do build up your immune system. I am so much healthier after I started eating more fruits, veggies and whole foods and stopped eating so many processed foods. Hey, who cooks the white rice for your husband? If you made brown rice with stir-fried vegetables and soy sauce and served it to your husband, I don't think he would even realize he was eating brown rice. And he would be eating a healthy meal. Also try basmati rice, which is more white than the brown rice, but more healthy than processed white rice. Y
[This message has been edited by ysone (edited 04-03-2003).]
Yes, fruits and veggies do build up your immune system. I am so much healthier after I started eating more fruits, veggies and whole foods and stopped eating so many processed foods. Hey, who cooks the white rice for your husband? If you made brown rice with stir-fried vegetables and soy sauce and served it to your husband, I don't think he would even realize he was eating brown rice. And he would be eating a healthy meal. Also try basmati rice, which is more white than the brown rice, but more healthy than processed white rice. Y
[This message has been edited by ysone (edited 04-03-2003).]
Magpiezoe
04-03-2003, 02:52 PM
Hello Ysone, He'd notice. He's Chinese. I even tried just substituting unbleached flour for the regular all purpose flour. I got away with it for a whole month, until my wonderful mother-in-law decided to make dumplings. Wouldn't you know it, she noticed that the flour wasn't lily white? She didn't even know that I was making the bread and pizza dough with it, until she saw it. Now we're back to the white stuff. I guess I'm going to have to wait until she goes back to China, before I can pump my hubby back up with vegies. (He never sets foot in the kitchen when I cook.) I remember the last time she went back to China...I made VEET with stir fried vegies, and he thought that it was the most tender pork that he had ever had. Speaking of VEET, I'm getting hungry for it and I just happen to have some in the freezer.
I'm beginning to wonder if it's a "male" thing;although, I do see some men on this board eating their vegies and fruits. My mom and I had to hide the vegies in our cooking when we cooked for my father too. My father was a meat and potatoes man. We used to put sliced peppers underneath the pizza cheese to get Dad to eat vegies. Thanks everyone. You're all great!
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Magpie
I'm beginning to wonder if it's a "male" thing;although, I do see some men on this board eating their vegies and fruits. My mom and I had to hide the vegies in our cooking when we cooked for my father too. My father was a meat and potatoes man. We used to put sliced peppers underneath the pizza cheese to get Dad to eat vegies. Thanks everyone. You're all great!
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Magpie
ysone
04-03-2003, 05:50 PM
Interesting...I have always heard how healthy the Asian diet is. I was under the impression they ate lots of stir-fried veggies. Do they have the refined white flour in China? Or is it because it is new to her that she thinks it is better? Hmmm...mother-in-law in your kitchen. It could be a good learning experience. How are you coping? Good Luck. Y
Magpiezoe
04-03-2003, 10:53 PM
Hello, I think the healthy Chinese diets are the monk diets. It is a learning experience. From what they tell me, every provence in China is different and so is the food. Their rice is definately bleached and very glutomus. (Sorry for the misspelling.)It's sticky and starchy, which makes it different than the Chinese restaurant rice. It's also overcooked for my taste, but they say it is easier for them to digest when it's mushy. They used to eat a lot of pork hocks and almost no vegetables, until they saw how healthy I got eating low-fat and lots of vegies and fruit. They have started to eat more fish, but they keep frying it. (She puts 1 inch of oil in the wok!)They've also started to eat more vegies, but still too little. (They only eat Chinese cabbage, mung bean sprouts, snow peas, and occationally spinach.) Possitively no carrots or tomatoes. Once in a while she will steam chicken legs. We all eat lots of garlic. I broil lean meats and fish for me and my son. My son and I also eat lots of raw vegies and fruits, because we don't like mushy stuff. What a house! It's just like a restaurant...Everyone eating different. My hubby and mother-in-law are constantly complaining about stomach aches, back aches, and headaches. I can understand my mother-in-law having the aches and pains of old age, but not my hubby. He's the same age as me! He's got high blood pressure and she's got high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I did finally get her to exercise, but I'm still having trouble tearing hubby away from the TV. I feel like giving up on them, but I can't. I guess I'm guilty of too much love. Would you believe I accually bought my hubby prunes in little packets so they look like a treat? If I didn't make bread, they'd be eating rice porage and canned fried fish for breakfast.
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Magpie
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Magpie
ysone
04-04-2003, 12:54 AM
I don't think you could ever have too much love! Could you get them to eat fruit in the morning? I know that is one thing that has really helped me. Try making a scrumptious fruit salad for breakfast. I have gotten rid of most of my aches and pains since I started eating healthy-mostly fruits and veggies. Y
Magpiezoe
04-04-2003, 09:41 AM
Hello, There is no way they would eat fruit for breakfast, but I think I might be able to get them to eat fruit for dessert. They don't believe in eating cold stuff for breakfast, and they classify fruit as cold stuff. I just thought of the biggest difference between here and China. It's the amount of exercise. In China they use bicycles to get where they want to go, have free community Ti Qi in the park, and there are free gyms open to the public in thier hospitals. Here, they ride around in cars and there are no free community exercise programs.
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Magpie
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Magpie
ysone
04-04-2003, 10:23 AM
Yes, exercise is a big thing missing in our lives now that we have so many "conveniences". Oh, well, the fruit thing was a good try! For dessert, okay. Any way they will take it. Now to fit in the veggies.....